PAGES

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Cappy's World of Spirits

I've never actually been inside. I can't even tell you for sure if it's open for business -- butcher paper on the windows is always a bad sign. I can, however, try to describe some of the many ways I love this place...

First, it's not called Cappy's liquor store. Instead, it's the more ethereal "Cappy's World of Spirits." That sounds to me like you could go in and find Aleister Crowley behind the counter levitating as he rings up your bottle of Jack Daniels, and possibly a secret back door painted with a golden triangle or an eye of Horus. Next, the sign proffers general merchandise -- something vaguely quaint and 19th Century, and perfectly suited for our historic little town. It also promises gifts. But gifts in a World of Spirits store that also offers general merchandise sound like no gifts I've ever received. And why aren't any of them displayed in the window? Finally, it has that odd picture of the man in the hat. I assume the man is Cappy. I like not knowing whether or not the man is Cappy. Throw in those gorgeous old bricks and the cool street lamp and now you can see why I just had to take a picture.

I'm sure someone in the area has a story or two about Cappy's. I'd love to hear it.

I think you can get everything from tombstones to caps to a bottle of MD20/20 in there. Maybe a crystall ball and a potion to bring back a long lost lover. The black and white conversion just makes it that more mysterious and aged. What a great shot. Love the story behind it. (especially the part about levitating) %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% May Cappy live forever on some level or another.

I just love a place where you can buy a jug of booze and a bolt of calico. I left my horse tied up outside and shall venture inside. I find that I also need thread and a shoe horn. Love the photo and all the mystery.

Delightful "cap"ture, Laurie. There are New Testament traditions of "spiritual gifts", and now we see Cappy could dispense them! Just drop on by, and leave with the ability to demonstrate compassion. Or to teach. Or to exhort. I'm in!

You know, I almost don't want to go inside because I am certain the reality can not possibly compete with the fantasy I have created. I mean, if there isn't a portal to another dimension then I'm going to be seriously bummed out...

As a 25-year resident of South Pasadena, I believe that Cappy's has been closed for several years. It was an interesting place. It had everything you'd expect to find at a liquor store, and seemed to have a long history, with older people working behind the counter. The best thing about it was that the front window and many of the counters were havily populated with figurine-shaped liquor bottles that the liquor companies give to dealers as promos. There were hundreds of these all over the shop. I remember bottles in the shape of a railroad locomotive and several railroad cars in the front window. There were Jack Daniels bottles in the shape of Elvis, racing cars, pretty much anything you can name. As liquor stores go, it was a blast from the past. I don't know who Cappy is/was, but I'm sure some of the older townspeople knew him well.

Agree with earl---the place was closed some time ago. It was a little place (my memory suggests Fosselman's was next door or nearby for a while?!?) with a lot of character, just about any odd item related to a liquor store, you could purchase there. Kids were afraid to go in because we were not allowed to drink, so theoretically, not allowed in, or so legend went. Most of us were not interested in attempting to test the theory. Ironically, Cappy's used to sponsor a girls softball team. Then again, the old "Salt Shaker Restaurant" used to sponsor too (any wonder why they are no longer in biz?).

Stopped by Cappy's today. The man in the hat IS Cappy! There's an obituary notice taped inside the window, which means that although the store has been closed for years, the family or someone who knew Cappy must still own the building. There is also a grungy looking plaque in the window bearing the seal of the South Pasadena Police Department showing the date 1980.

A friend of mine told me he was at a garage sale years ago and saw a calendar with a photo of Marilyn Monroe on it. The calendar said "Cappy's Liquor" or "Cappy's World of Spirits" but the address was in El Sereno, a part of Los Angeles not far from South Pas. So Cappy's may originally have been located in El Sereno.

I knew his granddaughter Cathy. She had a horse down at San Pasqual stables back when it was run by the Wartzes (and went by the same name) Back then, young girls could afford the board on baby sitting money.

It was a marvelous place, and a fond memory. In fact, I found your page because I was searching specifically on Cappy's.

I used to live on the border between S. Pas. and Alhambra in the late '70's, sharing a house with other young adults just out of college, one way or another. And we threw a lot of parties: you can justify almost one a month if you have a good venue and put your mind to even the minor holidays. And each of them involved a trip to Cappy's.

Not just for the staple well booze, which might have been cheaper at Ralph's, just down the street, or at the run of the mill liquor store halfway to Ralph's.

No, what justified the trip to Cappy's was the shopping experience. Our mission was not just to repair the devastation our friends had wreaked on our stock, but to find, for each party, some new treasure. Something no one could expect. It was an imperative, and Cappy never disappointed.

Carribean Cane liquor. Polish Alcohol (that was the label: this was 175 proof, you would have had to add water to get vodka). Essence of Burning Village (thats what we called it, the label was all in chinese, and the name evoked the taste and effect). Potato vodka steeped with buffalo grass. I still have many of those bottles, their contents enjoyed or evaporated over the years.

But the reason I decided to write was the collectors' editions. The place was overrun with them. It was part of what made the treasure hunting fun. We used to joke that it had to be a combined effort: he never turned down a salesman with a bottle to sell, no matter how strange, and she never met a ceramic she didn't like.

Those hundreds of Elvises (Elvii ??), John Waynes, bears, trucks, and all the rest were actually "collectable" bottles, each full of some variant of the demon rum (well technically, almost exclusively bourbon). And they were, in some weird way, inventory, awaiting the cutomer whom destiny had in mind. A lot of those customers apparently couldn't read destiny's handwriting on the directions to Cappy's, unfortunately.

Yes, there was a lot of dust, especially on the stuff on the high shelves, almost like a little balcony of their own for the biggest and gaudiest, if memory serves. But there was a lot of dust on many of the gems we mined from between them as well, down on the low shelves, out of sight and mind.

To this day I refer to it as simply the liquor store. I love the rustic, old time feel it has, inside and out. It was where I spent the majority of my childhood. My older sister and i would wander around the store, being little nuisances to the customers, or entertainment if need be. We would watch the business below from the balcony, and come down to greet the regulars, ask if they brought us any treats. I remember one guy always brought in two huge great danes, whom I eagerly played with; another bicyclist brought me chocolated ice cream from the pharmacy on the corner. My mom, Holly, and grandpa, Cappy, seemed to know most of those who came in. The comprehension I had of the store was a place where mommy and papa's friends came to visit and laugh, and for some reason left with a brown bag. Never did I know of its contribution to parties and whatnot.. I miss the smell of the tobacco/cigar room, as well as the cool feeling in the wine cellar. It's been almost a decade since we've closed, and it may be forgotten by many, but my grandpa's old store remains an enchanting place in my seven-year old memories.I love this picture, by the way. You capture it's essence perfectly, so thank you.

I just wanted to add a comment here to mention thanks for you very nice ideas. Blogs are troublesome to run and time consuming thus I appreciate when I see well written material. Your time isn’t going to waste with your posts. Thanks so much and stick with it No doubt you will definitely reach your goals! Have a great day!Herbal Potpourri

I worked at Cappys in the late 1980's. I needed a job, I was between jobs at the time, and Cappy hired me with a handshake. Little did I know what I was in for. The basement was stocked high with liquor cases, some from the 1950's and maybe earlier. Keepsakes, trinkets, last minute gifts. The people that worked there, Cappy, his wife Elsie, Wally, Tom, Dennis Cappy himself had such an influence on me and my life. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't find myself using language, gestures that he passed on to me, whether that was his intent or not. A most personable and kind man and giving man. It was supposed to be a job to hold me over until something else came along. Even after getting hired with a new job, I stayed to work at Cappys after getting off of my "real" job. I stayed almost 4 years. I will miss that man and have so much to thank him for.

Thank you so much for this message, Clement! I am going to cut and paste and put it over on the Glimpses of South Pasadena Community Forum. (Look at the Community Tab at the top of the page!) I've always wondered about who worked there ... now I can say I know! :-)

Search Glimpses of South Pasadena

Laurie Allee

SHOP GLIMPSES MERCH

2018 Glimpses Vintage Car Calendar

You can personalize which months to include! Available now at my store!

The History of Glimpses

Glimpses of South Pasadena is 10 years old!

In December of 2007, after many years on the west side of Los Angeles (and at least a third of those years spent stuck in traffic on Pico Boulevard) my family settled into a happy little house in South Pasadena. This daily blog covered almost 5 years as I put down roots in my new home town -- and almost 5 more as I settled in and became a South Pas old-timer. While I don't always blog daily, I add new posts every week.

Recent posts from my other blogs

Chic Contraire by Laurie Allee

Question Style Authority! Check out my style blog for those who wear what they want, not what they're told. Ethical style, fashion history, curated picks and more. Check the archives! New posts in Spring, 2018 after haitus!

Follow Glimpses on Twitter

Follow Glimpses on Instagram

Follow Laurie on Twitter

Follow Laurie on Instagram

Laurie's YouTube Channel

Follow Glimpses of South Pasadena by Email

my multimedia column archive: Views from the Front Porch

Published at Patch.

Elsewhere...

Thank you Charlie's Coffee House for hosting my photo exhibit, South Pas: Observed. From October 2011 through January 2012 my pictures graced the walls of the best place in town to get a cup of coffee!

Read the nifty story on photo bloggers Petrea Burchard, Ben Wideman, Kat Likkel and little old me featured in the September, 2011 issue of Pasadena Magazine.

A note about links

Some posts on this blog include recommendations with affiliate links to Amazon. What does that mean? If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, Glimpses of South Pasadena receives a small commission from the sale at no extra cost to you.